light for frag tank

[Arthur]

I'm setting a frag tank. 30 gal. 36" long 12" deep. It is so much fun to frag big corals and watch frags grow. In my 125 reef I have T5 and MH. Have a lot LPS,SPS and softies. What kind of light <brand and best place to buy> you suggest to keep them happy?.Please let me know. Thanks.

 

[SaylorsReef]

I vote for T5.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I'm not 100% sold on LEDs yet.

 

[SaylorsReef]

God Brenda you are so 2009 . T5 is cool too but a DIY LED is cheaper then a high quality 6-8 bulb T5.

Do you seriously believe he needs 6 - 8 bulbs over that size tank? ound:

 

[Pufferpunk]

I was just there on Fri.

 

[SaylorsReef]

If he wants to grow colorful SPS in his frag tank then yes. I have 6 bulbs over my 18" x 18" nanocube. I guess if all he wants to do is maintain small sps frags or grow lps/softies then 4 bulbs would be fine.

Perhaps we are not on the same page as to the type of 30g this is. Is this a 30 gallon breeder? or regular 30g?

I grew colorful sps in my 75g 48" x 18" x 21" with 6 T5 bulbs.

 

[SaylorsReef]

Its interesting the resistance that the LED market is getting from some "older school" reefers.

"Experienced" reefers, not old!

If I was setting up my first reef today and didn't know anything LED would be the only thing I was looking at simply because it is the newest technology.

Newest isn't necessarily the best.

 

[SaylorsReef]

Those were 6 54w bulbs. This 30 would presumably be 24w bulbs. I know watts per gallon is a terrible measure but it would be 4.3 on your 75g and 4.8 on the 30g. The 30 is more shallow so it would provide more PAR which will grow the coral faster. Hopefully that explains my reasoning a little better. But I still say go with between 18-24 3w Cree LEDs.

Yes, I know my bulbs were 54 watts each, my tank is 12 inches longer than his, hence the higher wattage.

His 30g should be 39 watt bulbs, not 24 watt. The 24" won't cover the length of the tank.

I also have a 6 bulb T5, on my 65, (36") the bulbs are 39 watts.

 

[Twitch]

Well all I can say is I love my LED's from Bill, now I dont doubt the T5 thing it has been proven but I can honestly say I have seen the growth in my own tank and friends tanks and it is decent with LED's. Hey puffer you have many tanks... If you can set up a small diy kit from Bill on one of your small reefs next time bulb change comes around if you have a smaller one and do a test. I trust your reefing abilities and think you out of any of us would be able to give us a stable result.

But as for the question at hand, I look at it like this if you go T5, are you willing to keep up with bulb changes or spent a tad bit more (or less depending on setup) for a 8+ year setup? I love the look of a good T5 combo of bulbs and you can get colors out of corals you didnt even know existed, but that comes with a price of maintenance of bulbs. LED's are good for many years and are newer but look at some of the tanks out there using them, great growth and colors so the choice is really yours

 

[SaylorsReef]

Alright you win...4 39w bulbs would be just fine...but still, a high quality fixture will cost around the same amount of.money as a diy LED setup that will never need a bulb change.

I'm not sure he'll get the same coverage for the same amount of money.

If going T5 DIY, this is what I would do:

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/LET_Lighting/Miro-4_Retrofit_Kits/36_inch__4x39W_Miro-4_T5_High-Output_Retrofit_Kit_w!_Bulbs_by_LET_Lighting

 

[Pufferpunk]

Does anyone here know of someone who has LEDs over their tank for 8+ years?

 

[Arthur]

Thanks for all your input. So I learned a lot. I know MH is out. But still not sure T5 or leds. And are you sure SPS will be fine with T5? They grow like crazy in my 125 reef but I have MH and T5.

 

[ColorMeCorals]

Nope , Bill is the leader . Leds are still being improved and out dated as the new and improved ones come out. Its more about the look than growth to me. I'm not against them or for them. I just know a string of xmas lights at Walgreens are only 1.99 so I'm not sure if they are just over marked up because of being new and the hype or they really cost that much to make.

Does anyone here know of someone who has LEDs over their tank for 8+ years?

 

[ColorMeCorals]

No we don't dont know they last as claimed. Please provide back up if you have documentated test results.

Why is 8 years your benchmark? We know from other LED applications that the bulbs last approximately 50k hours without dimming, and we have seen many tanks with 1+ years and great SPS growth. What would be different about the fixture now and 8 years from now when we already know that the LEDs last?

 

[ColorMeCorals]

I can not say all sps will be fine under T-5 , but I can say some people have some kinds of under T 5s
I can also say I have killed some under MHs

Thanks for all your input. So I learned a lot. I know MH is out. But still not sure T5 or leds. And are you sure SPS will be fine with T5? They grow like crazy in my 125 reef but I have MH and T5.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Ted, I can't find the post but you said something earlier about not having to change a bulb for 8 years. But in this thread you say:

a diy LED setup that will never need a bulb change.

 

[Pufferpunk]

But where's the proof they keep their par for that long?

 

[Logan 12]

I am not sold on LED's yet either. I have heard some negatives over long term from a few companies that have been testing LED's before the hype started. From what I'v heard growth is great, but color fades after a bit concerning certain pigments.

Let's not forget that color in sps is not all about lighting, water quality is a big part of maintaining proper color............................. Alk, Ca and Mg.

 

[Arthur]

Ohhh I'm so stup.... I decided to go with 6x39w T5 fixture and then masure to make sure and I found out tankk is 30" not 36".......With 30"I found only fixture with 4x24w. This is not enaugh... Oh , now another problem..

 

[Logan 12]

I just wanted to say that I am not trying to push you in one direction, that is just what I have heared about the product. All I want to do is inform you on what I'v heard. I do not own any LED fixtures so can not really argue in favor or against them. I do have sps under T5's and love them. I want to try LED's but dont have the funds for them at this point.

Honestly, these are things that I can't provide any info about as I am fairly fresh into the world of keeping SPS or any corals for that matter. I would love to hear more though if you wanted to maybe start a thread in the SPS section about how these things affect color.

This is going to be a bit of work on my part to explain correctly. I will try and get a start on it very soon along with pictures so that you can see the results of proper water quality and color.